National Geographic magazine editors wanted to take a close look at the publication’s coverage of race over its 130-year history. Once they did, they discovered that their coverage of race relations was stereotypical and poor. National Geographic’s most recent issue includes a letter from Editor in Chief Susan Goldberg that discloses the results of a study conducted by a University of Virginia history professor who examined the magazine’s history of race coverage. The professor, John Edwin Mason, found that the magazine “all but ignored people of color who lived in…

The announcement in January that the Cleveland Indians will remove the “Chief Wahoo” logo from use on the field has invited a reexamination of sports teams’ use of Native American-inspired names and imagery. Research presents arguments against the use of Native American sports mascots, so why does the practice persist? Q: What was behind the decision to remove Chief Wahoo? The Cleveland Indians will not use the “Chief Wahoo” logo – a grinning, red-faced, and feathered caricature of a Native American used since the 1940s – on the field beginning…

Following a 55-year battle with Motor Neurone Disease, Professor Hawking died in the early hours of March 13, 2018. However, his legacy will live on through the valuable knowledge of the universe that he has imparted on the world, and also warnings humanity must heed going forward. Prof Hawking was an avid believer that there was life elsewhere in the universe, and even set up the Breakthrough Listen initiative – an organisation which listens out for signals in deep space. But the late particle physicist did warn agains humans contacting…

March 2018: WORM MOON and PINK MOON While February misses out, March will see two moons this month – with the second moon earning the title the Blue Moon. The Worm Moon will take place on March 1 and will be visible from 12.51am. As temperatures warm, earthworms begin to appear above ground and birds begin finding food – which is how the moon took its name. The Worm Moon is also known as Sap Moon, Crow Moon and Lenten Moon. This year, the Pink Moon will rise at 1.37pm…

Physicist and author Stephen Hawking possessed an uncanny ability to come up with memorable phrases and sayings that summed up his world view. Here is a selection of his famous observations: — “We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the universe. That makes us something very special.” — “Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny.” — “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.” — “For millions of years,…

Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. SUBSCRIBE Researchers have mapped out deaths from alcohol, drugs and violence across the U.S. and found troubling patterns of despair that have worsened in recent years. While deaths from alcohol abuse, suicide and violence are down, they are more than outweighed by a gigantic 600 percent increase in drug overdose deaths, the team at the University of Washington found. Their county-by-county breakdown of mortality data going back to 1980 paints an extremely detailed picture…

Get the Think newsletter. SUBSCRIBE Today, as in the past, California sees itself seen as a beacon of hope, as the last Promised Land in the United States. That’s how it’s been since 1849, when the world rushed in for gold. The state’s rulers welcomed the so-called Argonauts, as well as subsequent generations of other Americans: Midwesterners lured by our warm climate, suburbanites who bought up tract housing and joined the defense industry, sports franchises who wanted to leave the cold East, tech giants in Silicon Valley, and others. But…

American theoretical physicist, futurist, and populariser of science, Michio Kaku, thinks humans will detect aliens before 2100 by listening to radio communications, but he does not know if we will be able to talk back to them. Speaking on an “ask me anything” question and answer session on social media platform Reddit, the futurist answered a Redditor who asked, “Dr Kaku, if we make contact with alien civilisations, then what? And how will we talk to them?” Dr Kaku replied: “Let me stick my neck out. “I personally feel that…

Oklahoma’s schools, faced with a budget crunch, are increasingly going to four-day weeks. The starting salary for teachers hasn’t been raised in 10 years. The prisons are so overcrowded, they have asked for an additional $1 billion. The state is facing an estimated $650 million budget deficit – and it’s likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future, because in this conservative state few want to raise taxes (and they can’t, without three-quarters of the legislature). In short, there’s a big mess at the state capitol in Oklahoma City.…

Ashton Matheny cried during the victim impact statements while clutching his daughter, Haisley Jo. Brooke Crews, 38, pleaded guilty to the savage murder of Savanna Greywind, 22, along with conspiracy to commit kidnapping and lying to law officers. Prosecutors asked for a sentence of life in prison with no parole, saying Crews admitted to cutting out the baby while Greywind went in and out of consciousness. According to Assistant Cass County State’s Attorney Leah Jo Viste, Greywind bled to death. Crews, from North Dakota, showed no emotion as the judge…